The present invention relates to a slicing and spread-applicating apparatus and, more particularly, to an apparatus for slicing selected food items for application of a pre-selected spread thereon.
Food items, such as loaves of bread, may at times be sold with a pre-selected spread already applied thereon. For example, a loaf of bread may be pre-buttered at the manufacturer. Alternatively, a garlic spread or other such topping may be applied to the product at the manufacturer. In this regard, many consumers enjoy the convenience of purchasing the product with the particular spread having already been applied.
Today, spreads are commonly applied to food items, such as loaves of bread, via a manual spreading process. It will be recognized that such a process is very labor intensive, hence expensive. Other known processes involve spraying a spread onto a food item, or passing a food item under a “waterfall” of spread. Such processes, however, generally require complex machinery which is often times expensive to purchase, operate and clean.
There is therefore a need in the art for a discrete, stand-alone machine which is readily operated and cleaned, and which is capable of both slicing a selected food item and thereafter applying a pre-selected spread thereon.